Signy was an orphan raised by the renowned boat builder Floki and his wife Helga. Growing up, she was best friends with the sons of the great Ragnar Lothbrok. However, when her half sister is to be sent to get married and Signy steps in to swap plac...
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The sky was a dark grey, filling the land with an eery silence as a thick fog washed over the landscape. The air was heavy in my lungs, like a lead weight was pressed down on my chest. I could feel a storm brewing in my bones through the electric air. Something was coming, something huge. I could tell that things were going to get serious before anything even started.
I stood, armour covered with warpaint ready on my face. My crystal eyes watched every motion of the world, the animals and plants alike. I wanted to soak it all in before the war tore everything apart. Who knew what would happen? Perhaps I'd die, perhaps someone I loved would die. All I knew was that things were about to change drastically.
My heart was a tidal wave. Every memory, every thought, every feeling, that had ever passed through me was doing so on repeat. I took a deep, heavy breath.
"You alright?" Hvitserk's familiar voice made me turn to face him.
I gave a small sigh, shaking my head, "As alright as one can be when facing such things."
"We will win, Signy. Don't worry." He answered calmly, though I could sense that he too had his fears.
Again, my head motioned slightly and I looked up at him with teary fear. "That's not what I'm afraid of."
We fell silent, my assumption being that he too felt the same as I did. So, we just stared out into the landscape in a stillness that sent shivers curling up my spine.
"You know what I think? I think you should go talk to her!" I joked at Ubbe, a wide grin smeared across my face. He'd been looking over at Kari all evening and I couldn't help but take notice.
"He probably wouldn't know what to say!" Sigurd chimed in with our common banter.
I laughed at the boys comment, noticing how Ubbe glared at him. "And you would?"
I smiled, "Now, now boys. Let's not argue."
"I'm not arguing. Who's arguing?" Ubbe answered making me laugh even more. We were all, at this point, ever so slightly drunk.
"So you're not arguing that you loooooove my sister!" I grinned triumphantly. Both Sigurd and I high-fived making his older brother sigh.
"What are we talking about?" Hvitserk approached us all, sitting beside his elder brother at the table.
"We were just talking about how Ubbe wants to get my sister into bed with him." I shrugged.
This made Hvitserk laugh a little, Ubbe only muttering under his breath about my childishness.
"Admit it brother, you love her!" Sigurd continued.
This made Ubbe raise his voice only ever so slightly in utter exasperation. "I don't love her! I mean, yes I think about her a lot. Sometimes I help her mother just to see her. Whenever she's in the hall I look over at her smile and it the most beatiful thing I've ever seen. But am I in love with her? Pssht." He had answered.
We all looked at him, trying to remain serious for a moment. However, all three of us failed and burst into laughter.
"Go talk to her!" We said in unison.
"Fine, I will!" He answered calmly. Just as he got up, and we turned to watch his approach, we noticed Kari being lead out of the room by none other than Ivar himself.
I found myself seething silently in my seat as I watched them leave. A little mix of hurt, rage, and confusion. The brothers seemed to notice this.
"Speaking of addressing feelings." I recall Sigurd muttering as he looked over to me.
I hadn't actually found out what the two had discussed that night until after I confessed my feelings to Ivar. It turns out, he'd been asking Kari advice on how to get me to love him. I suppose we were both such fools back then.
"Do you remember that game we all used to play when we were younger?" I questioned into the icy air. "Sigurd and I always used to play tricks on the rest of you. He used to come up with the most awful things!" I laughed at the memory.
Hvitserk smiled at me, "You always used to help other people win whenever we played. One time I'd lost everything all day, Ivar had even broken my arm when we were training. So, you spent all day making sure I won."
"I hate that I must fight against them Hvitserk. Ubbe, Bjorn, Kari. I love them so much. But even though I would protect them all with my life, I could never choose them over the two of you. And I will help you win today. On my life, nothing will happen to you as long as I'm there." I answered.
Gently, he pulled me in for a hug, "I know."
Thank y'all so much for 30k reads!!!!! THAT'S CRAZY DUDE. I'm so sad that this book is nearly over but I'm still bringing out new stuff all the time to read! I'm glad you've enjoyed this book so far. The support has been phenomenal. I'm so excited to share the next chapters.
